Scheer Partners, Inc. Engaged by Space Florida to Provide Market Analysis for Potential Privatization of the Space Life Sciences Laboratory

The leading provider of fully integrated commercial real estate services for the health science industry announces today it has been hired by Space Florida, the state’s aerospace economic-development agency, to determine the possible marketability for its 104,000-square-foot Space Life Sciences Laboratory (SLSL) to users other than NASA.

The SLSL is a state-of-the-art building adjacent to the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Fla., that was originally designed and constructed for NASA and has hosted some of the world’s preeminent scientists engaged in life sciences research aboard the shuttle and orbiting space station. In accredited labs and processing areas within the SLSL, NASA’s life sciences support personnel have carefully housed and prepared experiments for launch aboard the space shuttle from Kennedy Space Center to the space station.

Officials with Space Florida, a subdivision of the state of Florida that owns the SLSL, are determining the best tact in marketing the SLSL to federal and state agencies and/or private-sector aerospace and life sciences companies. That’s where Scheer Partners Vice President Matt Brady and Associate Jamie Rash, who are spearheading this project, come in.

Says Brady, “I definitely think there’s a market for government and private-sector tenants to occupy space in the SLSL. The infrastructure is in place, providing an alternative to building from scratch, which can be cost prohibitive. This lab caters to a select and unique audience: Businesses involved in life sciences research as it relates to zero gravity research, and those who want to take advantage of this facility’s existing capabilities in Florida.”

When compared to other states, Florida does not have as much critical mass in life sciences research and commercialization, though several esteemed research institutes are located in Florida, along with numerous private-sector companies that have satellite offices scattered throughout the state. A combination of the SLSL and Exploration Park, which sits next to this lab and has plans of its own for up to 450,000 square feet of lab, office and research space, could help serve as the catalyst for a more concentrated clustering of aerospace and life sciences activity in Florida, Brady says.

This is the second consulting assignment centered on the marketability of health science-focused commercial real estate assets that Scheer Partners has worked on in recent months for a client beyond the Washington-Baltimore corridor. In April, the University of Rhode Island hired the company to establish and confirm the viability of developing a research and technology park on the university’s north campus that would house engineering, science and tech firms.

“While the Washington and Baltimore regions will always remain our top priority and the main revenue driver for our firm, it is gratifying that clients in other states recognize our industry-leading experience and knowledge in commercial real estate as it pertains to health care and the life sciences,” says Robert Scheer, the founder and president of Scheer Partners.

About Scheer Partners

Founded in 1991, Scheer Partners is a full-service commercial real estate firm headquartered in Rockville, MD. With a focus on the greater Washington and Baltimore regions, Scheer Partners’ fully integrated services include tenant and landlord representation; strategic planning consulting; facilities and construction management; and investment sales, acquisitions and development. While the firm works with clients across all industry types, Scheer Partners is the recognized leader serving the health-care market, with more than 500 successful projects in this sector. Scheer Partners is the operations manager for Montgomery County's technology incubator program, which has more than 160 tenants, and is co-manager of the Greater Washington Life Sciences Fund. The company’s Web site is www.scheerpartners.com.